My boyfriend loves bear claws, so I attempted to make some for him. These bear claws are filled with almond paste and sprinkled with sliced almonds and icing. They came out very good, and he ate most of them before I could give them away to my friends. This recipe (below) is pretty simple and easy. Enjoy making them!

I started rolling out the dough and folding them and filling them with almond paste:

I cut the "claws" into each one and let them rise before baking:

After baking, I drizzled them with icing:

The finished bear claws:

Recipe:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups half-and-half cream1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup almond paste, cubed
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups Powdered Sugar
Sliced almondsDirections
In a bowl, toss butter with 3 cups flour until well coated; refrigerate. In a large bowl, combine yeast and remaining flour.
In a saucepan, heat cream, sugar and salt to 120°-130°. Add to yeast mixture with 1 egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in butter mixture just until moistened.
Place dough onto a well floured surface; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Starting at a short side, fold dough in thirds, forming a 12-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Give dough a quarter turn; roll into a 21-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Fold into thirds, starting with a short side. Repeat, flouring surface as needed. (Do not chill dough between each rolling and folding.) Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours or until firm.
For filling, in a small bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and almond paste; beat until smooth. Cut dough in half widthwise. Roll each portion into a 12-in. square; cut each square into three 12-in. x 4-in. strips. Spread about 2 tablespoons filling down center of each strip. Fold long edges together; seal edges and ends. Cut into three pieces.
Place on greased baking sheets with folded edge facing away from you. With scissors, cut strips four times to within 1/2 in. of folded edge; separate slightly. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Lightly beat 1 tablespoon of water and remaining egg yolk; brush over dough. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
Place 2 cups powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk in a bowl and mix well. Drizzle over bear claws.